Iemand die op de vlucht is in eigen land wordt binnenlands ontheemd genoemd. Binnenlands ontheemden vormen de grootste groep mensen dat gedwongen op de vlucht is.

Hoewel ze meestal om dezelfde redenen op de vlucht slaan als vluchtelingen (gewapend conflict, geweld, schending van de mensenrechten), blijven binnenlands ontheemden wettelijk onder de bescherming staan van hun eigen overheid, ook al is diezelfde overheid soms medeverantwoordelijk voor het feit dat mensen hun woonplaats ontvluchten. Ze worden daardoor niet beschermd door het internationale recht en zijn als gevolg daarvan erg kwetsbaar.

UNHCR zorgt ervoor dat deze mensen niet aan hun lot worden overgelaten.

Eind 2023 waren er wereldwijd 68,3 miljoen mensen op de vlucht in eigen land, een forse stijging ten opzichte van het jaar daarvoor. Deze stijging werd veroorzaakt door toenemend geweld en conflicten, bijvoorbeeld in Soedan, Democratische Republiek Congo (DRC) en Myanmar.

Veelgestelde vragen over binnenlands ontheemden

Vluchtelingen

vluchtelingen

Staatlozen

A man collects rubbish at San Pedro de Macoris municipal dump. ; Tens of thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent were deprived of their Dominican nationality following a 2013 ruling by the Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic. UNHCR has appealed to the Dominican government to ensure that these people are not deported and is committed to working with the Dominican authorities to find a solution for them that guarantees protection of their human rights.

Binnenlands ontheemden

An Internally Displaced girl pumps water near her family's mud house in Minarets informal settlement in the center of Herat city. Families in this urban settlement fled their homes around the year 2000 for security reasons. ; Families settled in 2000, the provincial governor at the time gave permission to settle here but no formal documents were given. Recently the IDP's have been facing eviction threats.

Repatrianten

Asielzoekers

Mother with her son and daughter, from Iran seeking asylum in Austria, in a temporary family accommodation at Asfinag. The Asfinag centre is on the former site of a roadworks company, on the outskirts of Salzburg, a short distance from the border with Germany. Refugees and migrants arrive here directly by bus from the Slovenian border, brought by the Austrian authorities, and most will move on to Germany, and are accommodated in heated tents with camp beds and blankets. For those seeking asylum there are more permanent structures, with family groups separated from single males. Food is provided by volunteers three times a day. ; More than 643,000 refugees and migrants arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean sea this year, including 502,500 in Greece only. Many of the refugees and migrants are desperate to move quickly onwards to Western Europe, fearing that borders ahead of them will close. Although reception capacities have been stepped up the rising numbers has put the  Austrian reception system under strain. Many newcomers as well as transiting refugees and migrants are temporarily accommodated in sports- and music halls, former office buildings etc., with those wishing to stay waiting sometimes for weeks to get proper accommodation. With the winter approaching, aid has also been stepped up at the borders. At all border crossings where refugees are arriving or leaving – currently from Slovenia to Austria and from Austria to Germany – large heated tents which can hold up to a few thousand persons have been put up and NGOs, volunteers and authorities are providing basic services.

Bescherming van individuen